Updated Tight end rankings (non-PPR) for 2021 fantasy football leagues

We have one week until opening night, so fantasy football draft season is officially here and breathing down our necks like a sweaty defensive tackle. We’ve been working and shifting and shucking and jiving these rankings for a while now and there’s just one more week before they are moot like Fred Smoot.

We’ll be looking at tight ends below, which means the options are limited for the top guys. Who will they be this year?

2021 Fantasy Football rankings: Tight ends

The top tight ends are pretty much set with Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Darren Waller are the cream of the crop, while Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, and Kyle Pitts have upside to be true difference makers at the position.

There hasn’t been much movement in the tight end rankings, but after the elite guys it would be easy to move them around because predicting these guys is such a crapshoot. One player who I had high hopes for is Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. I had hopes he could be a solid tight end this season, but a meniscus tear has ended his season prematurely. Tyler Conklin and Chris Herndon will take over for him and will likely split work.

Not “sleeper” tight ends really popped this preseason. One player who intrigues me is Jonnu Smith, who will get Mac Jones instead of Cam Newton throwing to him. Hunter Henry is in the mix, but has been dealing with injuries and is starting to feel like a possible bust. Without any true No. 1 wide receivers, Smith could take on a Rob Gronkowski-like role if given the chance.